There are hundreds of colonial-era buildings in Yangon alone. PHOTO/COCONUTS MEDIA
Yangon heritage campaigners have welcomed two new bills that place tough penalties on the destruction of buildings and antiquities that are more than 100 years old and have “historic, cultural, artistic, antique and archaeological values”.
Existing legislation offers some legal protection for structures pre-dating 1886, as well as ancient monuments like the Bagan temples, but hundreds of neglected buildings from the colonial era in Yangon and beyond remain under threat from dilapidation and the real estate rush.
Two bills, created after the 1957 Antiquities Act was updated and split in half, were published for public review in state media on Monday, The Irrawaddy reported.
Under The Protection and Conservation of Ancient Buildings Bill, anyone who damages or destroys heritage buildings could be jailed for up to seven years. There are further penalties for those who take unauthorised photos or videos for ‘business purposes’.
Those who destroy or take antiquities overseas meanwhile, could be imprisoned for five to 10 years under the Protection and Conservation of Antiquities Bill.
Campaigners broadly praised the legislation, with Moe Moe Lwin, director of the Yangon Heritage Trust telling The Irrawaddy: “It would be good for the people and country if the bills come into law as soon as possible”.
Others warned of the need for more detailed heritage protection proposals for Yangon, which has the densest concentration of colonial-era structures in Asia.
“So, I think, we need specific regulations on which area is protected for heritage conservation and which buildings are scheduled for protection,” Nyo Nyo Thin, an independent Yangon Division parliamentarian, was quoted as saying.
See our Q&A with Yangon Heritage Trust founder Thant Myint-U for more on Yangon’s historic, threatened structures.
